Your source for the latest news on Rutgers football, basketball, and other sports

Menu

Daily Archives: November 17, 2008

If the blind lead the blind, so it’s been said, both shall fall into the
ditch. As the Rutgers football team has proven, those with vision can climb out.

If you’re looking to define this season in biblical terms, there you have it. This is not
to say they walked blindly into a 1-5 hole, but there is absolutely no doubt what pulled them
up to the .500 level.

Leadership.

Coach Greg Schiano has it, his six captains have it.

But as simple as that sounds, possessing leadership qualities and fully developing those
are not the same.

Judging by the wave of emails flooding into my inbox, I think it’s safe to say Rutgers fans would like nothing better than a pre-Christmas trip to St. Petersburg.

Well, the good news is the path to the St. Petersburg Bowl isn’t so difficult for Rutgers. In fact, if the Scarlet Knights win out and South Florida loses its final two games (at home vs. UConn, at West Virginia), feel free to book your tickets to the Florida gulf coast.

Here’s why: In the Big East bowl selection process, a 6-6 team will only land a destination if there’s a bowl unaccounted for. And, because of a surplus of 7-5 or greater teams, that definitely won’t happen this year.

Based on multiple conversations with bowl officials the past two days, the Gator will indeed take Notre Dame if it beats Syracuse (forget about Big 12 supremacy; Irish fans definitely will travel to Jacksonville and the Gator desperately wants a sellout); the Meineke is eyeing West Virginia (nobody travels better than Mountaineer fans and it’s a short 6-hour trip to Charlotte) or the Cincinnati/Pitt loser if it can pluck North Carolina as its ACC representative. The International Bowl would love to have Pitt but will settle for UConn; the PapaJohns.com gets Pat White’s homecoming if West Virginia loses two of its final three; and St. Petersburg wants 7-win South Florida above all else but the more than 7,500 fans traveling to USF “definitely” made Rutgers an attractive consolation prize.

The bottom line for Rutgers fans hoping for a return trip to Tampa: Root for your Scarlet Knights to win out and root equally hard for South Florida to lose out.

All that was missing from Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly in the aftermath of his club’s 13-10 win over Rutgers was a shovel. The Bearcats had left the Scarlet Knights buried for dead.

Or so everyone thought. Make that everyone, except Kelly.

“I thought they could win every game they played,” Kelly said Monday on the Big East’s media teleconference. “I think I said that publicly, that it wouldn’t surprise me if Rutgers won all their games. I just felt like it was a matter of time before they were able to play better football, and they certainly have. Arguably they’re playing now better than any team in the league.”

Winners of four straight since losing at Cincinnati on Oct. 11, the Scarlet Knights (5-5, 4-2 in Big East play) and their postseason hopes are alive and well.

A win this Saturday (12 p.m., SNY) will make Rutgers bowl-eligible for the fourth straight year.

Kelly, who himself is getting plenty of recognition for steering the 8-2 Bearcats to the top of the Big East this season, said Rutgers’ turnaround is a tribute to Rutgers coach Greg Schiano.

“They’re well-coached,” said Kelly, who may add a second Big East Coach of the Year award to his resume this season. “And I thought obviously when Rutgers wasn’t playing well, they had a lot of distractions. You can add the stadium expansion to that, you can add not getting expectations met.

“Greg Schiano did a tremendous job of keeping his football team together. I think that’s why Rutgers is where they are right now. It starts with their head coach.”

If Rutgers caps its turnaround with a bowl berth this season, it would be in some exclusive company. The Scarlet Knights would be just the seventh team in college football history to rebound with a bowl bid after starting a season 1-5. They’d be the first team since Rice turned the trick in 2006, and the first BCS conference school to do so since Pitt in 2001. Here are the six teams that went to a bowl after starting 1-5, according to year-by-year research of all 119 Division I-A teams from the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia:

Here is what Rutgers coach Greg Schiano had to say today on the Big East’s weekly media teleconference:

WHAT CHANGED SINCE THE EARLY-SEASON STRUGGLES?Well, early in the season we weren’t far off. We were just missing some deep plays by a couple inches or one block away from making a big run, or just missing a play. So it wasn’t like we were far off, and I think our guys by just sticking with it somehow found a way to make up that inch. And now we’re starting to make those plays. I know that’s kind of a basic answer, but I really think that’s what it is.

HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO KEEP THE PLAYERS’ SPIRITS UP THROUGH EARLY STRUGGLESI think we have great young people here, and I think they were as disappointed as our staff was or I was with our early-season performance. When a group of people work as hard as these kids have, I think all needed was people that would continue to encourage them. And they just kept worked, and worked their way through it. And now we’re in the middle of something where we have a chance to right the season and hopefully we can continue doing what we’ve been doing, and that’s prepare each week.

Rutgers cornerback Jason McCourty, here scoring a 30-yard INT return Saturday vs. South Florida, was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week. (Keith Muccilli/HNT)

Rutgers was rewarded for Saturday’s 49-16 triumph over South Florida, sweeping the Big East’s offensive and defensive weekly awards.

Junior wideout Kenny Britt was honored for his eight-reception, 173-yard effort. The 173 yards marked the most by a Big East receiver this season, and Britt’s performance was highlighted by a 93-yard touchdown — the second-longest play from scrimmage in Rutgers history. In the game, Britt also became Rutgers’ all-time leading receiver in upping his career receiving yards tally to 2,666 yards.

Jason McCourty earned the Big East Defensive Player of the Week award thanks to recording three turnovers — two interceptions, including one he returned 30 yards for a score, and a fumble recovery — in the South Florida win.

Rutgers wideout Kenny Britt earned Big East Offensive Player of the Week accolades for his 173-yard performance at USF. (Keith Muccilli/HNT)

“Really two great efforts by those guys,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said today on the Big East’s media teleconference. “I thought Kenny, with breaking the all-time receiving record in Rutgers history, is some feat. And then Jason coming up with three turnovers, two interceptions, one for a touchdown, I thought that was a very important performance for our victory.”

It marks the fourth straight game in which a Rutgers player received a Big East accolade, as Britt and McCourty joined linebacker Ryan D’Imperio (Oct. 20), quarterback Mike Teel (Oct. 27) and Kordell Young (Nov. 10) as Scarlet Knights who’ve been honored by the conference this fall.

Here’s a look at how the Big East bowl picture looks with three weeks to play in the season:

CONTROL DESTINYCincinnati (8-2, 4-1)Remaining schedule: 11/22 vs. Pitt; 11/29 vs. Syracuse; 12/6 at HawaiiSkinny: Wins over Pitt and Syracuse, both at home, will clinch the Bearcats first Big East crown.

PITT (7-2, 3-1)Remaining schedule: 11/22 at Cincinnati; 11/28 West Virginia; 12/6 at UConn.Skinny: Several obstacles in the Panthers’ path, but Dave Wannstedt’s enigmatic club will win the Big East if it wins out.

NEED HELP

WEST VIRGINIA (6-3, 3-1)Remaining schedule: 11/22 at Louisville, 11/28 at Pitt, 12/6 USFSkinny: Need Cincinnati to lose against Pitt to make Backyard Brawl in Pittsburgh a battle for Big East supremacy.

RUTGERS (5-5, 4-2)Remaining schedule: 11/22 vs. Army; 12/4 vs. Louisville.Skinny: Knights hold tiebreakers over UConn and Pitt, so Big East title and subsequent BCS berth comes down to this — Need Pitt to beat Cincinnati and West Virginia, then lose at UConn; need Cincinnati to lose to Pitt AND Syracuse; need West Virginia to lose to Pitt and either Louisville or South Florida.

Move your mouse over a day

NEW YORK -- Amad Anderson led Staten Island (N.Y.) Curtis to a 44-16 win over Staten Island (N.Y.) Tottenville in the season opener for both schools. The 2018 Rutgers athlete target spoke with Scarlet Report after the game with a potential decision soon.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Chris Ash met with the media on the Big Ten coach’s conference call after Tuesday’s practice. After Rutgers shuffled the depth chart ahead of Saturday against New Mexico, Ash assessed some of the changes on the two deep and more.

My fandom conscience is in a battle between what’s come before and the hope for something new. The Steve Pikiell Era truly kicks off 17 days, when college basketball teams can finally hold official practices. The new coach and his exciting, experienced staff is the sixth new basketball coach since I’ve closely followed Rutgers hoops. […]

50,000+ doesn’t have to be the benchmark....for now I have this thing about getting big crowds at home. All the time. Regardless of the opponent. I’m trying to get past that. Trying. Rutgers drew 45,245 to HPSS last Saturday. That’s a bit over 86% capacity. Which, if you’re Purdue or Northwestern or even Minnesota, is […]

About the Author

Jerry CarinoJerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.E-mail Jerry

Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004 and began covering Shore Conference sports full time in September 2006. He is a 2004 graduate of Springfield College with a degree in communications/sports journalism.E-mail Josh

Ryan DunleavyRyan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.E-mail Ryan